LAKE SHETEK VENUES AND WHAT THERE IS ON THE WEST SIDE

Note: Look for highlights of the east-side venues of Breezy Barn and Trail’s Edge in next week’s Wheel Herald.

By Jenny Kirk Valhalla Island on the west side of Lake Shetek looks to be a hot spot for relaxation, camaraderie, entertainment or a combination of all three this summer and beyond as there have been a lot of upgrades at Key Largo on Lake Shetek and at Lake Shetek Resort in the past year since new owners took over each of the Slayton area venues.

At Key Largo, a restaurant, bar and event/wedding venue located at 29 Valhalla Drive, the ballroom was significantly updated, making it more modern and larger, with a seating capacity of around 300. “We recently had MCC prom, a hospice fundraiser, a craft and vendor show, a teacher Christmas, a celebration of life reception, an annual insurance meeting and more,” said Carrie Van Dyke, co-owner of Key Largo, along with her husband Terry Van Dyke, Darren and Stacie Schuur and Ryan and Brandee Bullerman.

Brett Behrends is the owner of Lake Shetek Resort, which includes a restaurant and bar called Pelican Cove, located at 25 Valhalla Drive, as well as lodging opportunities — 24 indoor units and nearly a dozen outdoor campsites. The most iconic feature might be its enormous blue chair alongside a pelican and fishing bobber that is a perfect photo opportunity. “I bet we’ve had thousands of pictures taken already on that chair,” Behrends said.

Besides decorative pelicans, palm trees are also scattered throughout the lakeside property. While most are fake, they will soon be replaced by real ones. “Our slogan is ‘We’re the Key West of the Midwest,’” Behrends said. “We have lots of fun things happening this summer.”

Along with other upgrades, a big addition to the bar and beachside restaurant is currently taking place along the entire south side. “We’ll have all-glass hydraulic doors that open up,” Behrends said. “Our problem was that we were so weatherdependent before. We didn’t have much indoor seating. This will give us more seating.”

In addition to the larger space, a ladies bathroom was added and the kitchen was expanded to help keep up with capacity. A new walkway coming into the outdoor space is also part of the new construction. “The other stairwell served its purpose, but this one is more user friendly,” resort manager Steve Koch said. “We replaced the concrete, too, because it was hodgepodge, uneven. We probably could have gotten away with the old, but if you’re going to do something like this, you might as well do it right.”

Beginning Memorial Day weekend, Van Dyke anticipates operating with more staff at Key Largo, which is open at 11 a.m. Tuesday through Saturday and at 10 a.m. on Sunday. “We are getting settled with more fulltime staff, so we can offer steak, seafood, pastas, pizza and specialty salads and wraps,” she said. “We’re also offering a Sunday breakfast buffet starting Memorial weekend. We will also be having more smokehouse specials.”

Noon specials at Key Largo include old-fashion hot beef commercials, ham dinner and polish and kraut. “Those are our staple meals for about 30 years now,” Van Dyke said. “We’ll also have a homemade salad bar on the weekends.”

Pelican Cove opens every day at 11 a.m. Behrends said the biggest change besides the addition is that they increased the menu “Our food is really good,” he said. “We have an incredible team of people working. We kept a lot of people around. It’s kind of like a big family.

Koch added that they also got better at what they were doing. “We have a lot more consistency and it’s more timely now,” he said. “When people come into a place like this, they don’t want to wait an hour for their food, so we’ve gotten a lot better about that.”

Key Largo is slated to host Dueling Pianos on Friday and IV Play on Sunday during Memorial Day weekend. There are several other bands and activities scheduled this summer as well. “We have DJ, karaoke and smaller bands on Friday nights,” Van Dyke said. “We have bands on Saturday night and smaller bands on Sunday afternoons. We will be starting our bands earlier, so people can enjoy entertainment throughout the evening.”

Pelican Cove is hosting karaoke and Livin’ Rich on Friday and the band Pop Rocks on Saturday. “It’s our kickoff to summer,” Behrends said. “We have Pop Rocks coming. They play all over the world. They play a lot overseas at a lot of military bases. They’re like the more modern day Hairball. It was one of our biggest bands last year. We had a really good crowd.”

The side of a large van pulls down to a make a stage for bands and a little surf shack turned bar beer room provides service during concerts. More than a dozen live bands are scheduled over the summer at the resort in addition to other musical entertainment. “We’ll do patio music, like Eric Grunden or Kayla Daniels,” Koch said. “They’re both local people who have a good following.”

There are several other activities taking place at Lake Shetek Resort this summer. A fishing league recently started on Tuesday nights, with weigh-ins drawing family and friends in as well. “It’s super fun,” Behrends said. “The docks were all full when they came in. There were some pretty big fish caught.”

The area will also be buzzing on June 10, when the Shetek Area Sportsmen’s Association sponsors its 32nd annual Lake Shetek Walleye Fishing Tournament. “They get tournament fishermen from all over the United States,” Koch said. “Last year, I think there were over 100 boats, two guys to a boat. It was a busy place that day.”

A sand volleyball league rotates at multiple locations, including the resort and Key Largo. Bingo will start in June at the resort and in the fall, a trivia night looks to begin. “I think we’ll focus mainly on Lake Shetek trivia,” Koch said. “There’s a lot of stuff that’s happened here that a lot of people who have lived here their whole lives don’t even realize. Back in the 30s and 40s, people would get on these army barges and pull themselves out to the island. The grass was really tall, but they’d set up these little white, like army tents and camp out on the island. And they’d come from other states. This was a destination. So that’s kind of the idea of what we’re working toward.”

Despite being so close in proximity to each other, the two westside venues aren’t adversarial competitors and look to build each other up. “It’s a good working relationship,” Behrends said. “We’re both going to get business off each other. The more attractions you bring to the island, the better.”

On the Thursday evenings when volleyball isn’t held at Key Largo, bean bag tournaments take place. Key Largo also started “Singo Bingo” on Thursday nights.

Other amenities at the resort include a swimming area, which Koch calls the biggest and best on the lake, new playground equipment and an 18-passenger party bus that can be rented out for events such as bachelor and bachelorette parties. Soon, a small waterslide will be installed and possibly a putting green. “Adults love coming out, but a lot of times, there isn’t a lot of entertainment other than tubing and skiing for teenagers,” Koch said. “So we’re going to start looking at things teenagers can do to occupy their time.”

While Key Largo has a large indoor space for weddings, the resort features a small outdoor space, called The Point, which includes a wedding arch overlooking the lake. The resort also offers overnight opportunities in various capacities. Right now, there are four, soon to be five, three bedroom suites that consist of three independent bedrooms, two bathrooms and a full kitchen. There are also five double queens, along with a double queen suite. “At the very top is going to be a four-bedroom suite, all totally remodeled, with four independent bedrooms, two bathrooms, full kitchen, 100-inch fireplace, 86-inch TV and a beautiful view,” Koch said. “We also have one king suite we refer to as our executive suite.” Above the bar, there are also 10 single rooms and one double room.

Reflecting back over the first year of operation, Van Dyke is pleased but said much of it was a blur. The biggest challenge was learning the technology with the computer systems, she said. Behrends anticipates the resort getting better and better. “We’re really excited where we’ve gotten in one year, and we’re excited to see where the next year will bring us,” he said. “We have a heck of an atmosphere.”